Tesla's New Software Will Help Drivers Avoid Running Out of Juice

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a new app Thursday for the company’s all-electric cars that will help drivers keep their vehicles charged.

The new range assurance software will use maps and sensors to warn drivers before their car gets too far from a charging station to arrive using its current energy reserves. Every 30 seconds, the car will check energy usage against the amount of energy needed to get to the nearest charging station.

“This makes it effectively impossible for the driver of the model S to run out of range unintentionally,” said Musk at a press conference. “The car will actually double check. You’ll have to say, ‘Yes, I’m sure,’ twice, before you actually run out of range.”

The app will be released as an “over-the-air” software update for all Tesla Model S vehicles. The update will also include a Trip Planner that will guide drivers to the most convenient charging stations, factoring in a range of energy-sapping variables, including wind speed and mountainous passes.

The Wildest Concept Cars of 2014

Anybody can take Chevy's Chaparral 2x Vision concept car for a spin — anybody with Gran Turismo 6 for the Sony PlayStation, anyway, where the car is a playable download.

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One day, we'll all finally get to ride those light-cycles from Tron. For now, there's Toyota's FV2 concept car.

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Doors? Where you're going in the Smart Brabus FourJoy concept car, you don't need doors.

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The pickup truck hasn't really changed much in decades — until Volkswagen took it on with this Tristar concept car, which takes a pickup and makes it super offroad-friendly.

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Nissan's 3-seat electric BladeGlider concept car might actually make it to production, pretty rare for a concept car this wild. If a Jedi Knight drove a car, it would be the BladeGlider.

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Toyota hasn't said much about its high-riding C-HR Concept crossover, but we know that it's purple. Very purple.

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Maserati says its Alfieri concept car represents "the future of Maserati design." Too bad most of us can't conceptualize being able to afford a Maserati any time soon.

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Mercedes-Benz's G-Code concept SUV comes covered in what the company calls "multi-voltaic silver" paint that's supposed to act like one big solar cell. It's all very green — err, "multi-voltaic silver."

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It somehow doesn't feel like this car, designed by Russian artist Gosha Ostretsov, will fly off the shelves. But that's okay, because it's more art exhibit than commercial vehicle.

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This new update comes after Tesla recently improved the acceleration time on the high-end Tesla Model S P85D through a similar software update. Musk said Thursday that Tesla will continue to improve its cars’ sensitivity to their surrounding environment through quarterly software updates.

“We’re kind of waking up the car, if you will, and increasing its capabilities over time,” he said.

Tesla shares slipped by roughly 1.6% following the announcement, deflating a brief speculative surge of buying in the days leading up to the press conference.

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